Pakistan cry ‘inequality’ in international cricket after New Zealand pull out of tour

With England’s board yet to make up its mind about what would be their first visit to the South Asian country in 16 years next month, Pakistan’s bumper home season looks in disarray.

After a decade spent trying to woo back cricket’s international elite, Pakistan is facing the prospect of being declared the game’s no-go area again, and the anger is palpable. A sense of deja vu swept the country on Friday when New Zealand abruptly pulled the plug on their first Pakistan tour in 18 years, citing a security alert.

With England’s board yet to make up its mind about what would be their first visit to the South Asian country in 16 years next month, Pakistan’s bumper home season looks in disarray. It is a massive setback for the cricket-mad nation which moved heaven and earth to project itself as a safe destination and won tour commitments from several leading teams.

“It’s been pretty gut-wrenching,” PCB chief executive Wasim Khan told a virtual news conference on Sunday (September 19). “We’ve done a huge amount of work in building our credibility back up again in world cricket. The rug has been pulled out from under our feet as quick as that.”